Come Play… With Workplace Development

It’s been a tough day at work. Being bogged down with reports after reports after updates after updates after updating parts after updating parts.

Though, the one thing I love about my job, it that it’s constantly challenging me in new ways, learning how to use new systems, improving my excel skills, communicating with clients & engineers and forever expanding my mind to the running of a youngling company.

I love that my role is blurred and my reach and depth in the world of planning and project management is growing not by the week, not even by the day, but by the hour.

I take pleasure in developing my skill set, whatever field it may be in, I love that for the first time in my life I am finally doing myself justice and being successful in my university studies, with two exams obtaining a 1^st with 80% in each, and a not too shabby 68% for my first university-standard essay in three years.

I love that I’m finally in a position where I can afford to learn how to drive, and getting to know my driving instructor as we coast around the beautiful Cambridgeshire countryside (stall-free, might I add!).

And I love taking pride in my work, going the extra mile, and surprising myself at the end of each day, week, and month looking back on what I’ve achieved. I’ve done more with myself in the past 3 months than I had done in the last 3 years prior, and I am fulfilled in these accomplishments; they drive me to always keep moving forward.

I’m 23, I’m not old yet! Despite what the children on my course might say ;)

Though with this massive boost in motivation, I feel like I’m really battling with some of my colleagues to feel the same. And I understand where they’re coming from, I really do, but there is nothing worse than becoming stuck in a rut.

A particular colleague today sent me an email complaining about how I had not kept her informed on the goings on with one of ‘her’ engineer’s calls over the weekend. She felt saddened and humiliated that I hadn’t kept her in check. I understand what it’s like getting frustrated with the lack of communication in the office, it’s a young company, and there are some very definite teething problems.

However the reason I hadn’t informed her was due to the fact I had taken ownership of the issue, being the only member of staff working over the weekend, and dealt with it, therefore it seemed that there was no need to waste time that I didn’t have sending unnecessary updates.

I apologised for my lack of judgement with the situation, and I suggested that I had updated the notes on the clients database, and suggested that she should be trained to use the system so that if she had any problems in the future, she could read the reports that I spend hours typing up and then the problem wouldn’t occur again.

She responded with a defensive email about how it wasn’t her job to use that system. Providing no further constructive comments to the discussion.

She’d rather have a go at me than develop her skillset, which with time she could use as a bargaining tool for a pay rise or promotion. I don’t understand this at all. I learnt how to do her job over the weekends, therefore making me the only member of staff currently trained on not only logging, closing calls, reporting and logging the transfer of parts, but also to schedule them as well. And being well-versed in the use of all of these systems makes my job a hell of a lot easier. It also prevents me from becoming complacent, because when you find yourself doing the same job over and over again, you become complacent, which subsequently leads to you becoming bored, which can finally lead to you hating your job and becoming depressed. Why wouldn’t you want to mix things up a little?

The mind boggles. But I guess this is why people like that never get anywhere and end up resenting those who do. Fuck it. I’ll see her in 10 years when I’m driving through town in my Aston Martin.

Expand your mind. So you can get a nice car when you’re older. And therefore prevent depression. I’ve just cured all of the world’s problems. 

Just fucking do it!